


Take it Back

by SonjaJade



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alchemy, Gen, unwanted gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 12:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10464555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonjaJade/pseuds/SonjaJade
Summary: What did Ed miss the most about losing his alchemy?  How would it affect him if he were to suddenly get it back?  His kids want to know, and are surprised at the answer.





	

“Happy Birthday!” they all cried as Winry set a fluffy white cake down in front of her husband of 28 years.  His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled wide at his family, all singing loudly.  He took a deep breath and attempted to blow out all forty-seven candles but found he could only blow out thirty-nine.  He laughed as everyone helped blow the rest out and Winry began slicing up the sweet dessert.

“I hope you didn’t get me anything because I have everything I want right here!” he laughed as he took a big bite of his cake.  Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t see the exchanged grins between his three grown children.

They ate cheerfully, then retired to the living room where a television had replaced the radio the children grew up listing to.  “Thanks for coming out to see your old man, kids,” he said as he sipped at a mug of coffee.  “Makes me happy to see you all.”

His daughter smiled.  “It’s nice to come back and visit.  Makes me feel like I’ve really come home.” 

“Hey, Dad?” Conrad asked, licking his lips as he sat on the edge of his seat.  “Can you tell us about when you used to do alchemy?”

Sara and James gave him small smiles as they agreed.  Ed gave them funny looks, but obliged them anyway.  “Let’s see… what do you want to hear?”

“What was your favorite part about alchemy?  Like what do you miss the most?” James asked.

Ed grinned.  “It was so easy to fix everything.  I didn’t ever need glue or nails or a hammer, just clap and transmute.  But I think that made me arrogant and unappreciative back then.  Like I didn’t appreciate people like your mother who were honest artisans, using tools and hard work to create rather than just transmute.”

“What if you could have your alchemy back?”  Sara fingered the handle of her coffee cup and looked at her father with a thoughtful expression.  “How do you think alchemy would be now if you somehow got it back?”

Ed sighed.  “I certainly would not use it like I used to.  There’s something to be said doing things the hard way, a satisfaction of knowing you’re capable of living without such a science.”

Without warning, she threw her empty mug to the wooden floor and broke it.  Her brothers watched her anxiously as she picked up the pieces and then sat them on the coffee table in front of her dad.  “Can you see if you can still do it?”

Ed looked at her as if she were an idiot.  “Sara, you know I’ve tried before.  I can’t do it anymore.”

She gave him a sweet smile, one she knew he couldn’t resist.  “Please, Daddy.  For me?”

Edward looked at Winry, who blinked and shrugged her shoulders.  He looked down at his hands and shook his head.  “Sweetheart, I’m telling you, nothing is going to happen,” he said as brought his hands together anyway.

And then he gasped.  The air around them crackled with life and he could _feel_ the energy in his hands…  “What…”  He pulled his shaking palms apart, then brought them down to the coffee table top, the energy releasing and sewing the coffee mug back together like magic.  He and Winry could only stare as he sat with his hands still on the table.

“I was never any good at alchemy dad,” Conrad murmured.  “I had Uncle Al teach me enough to learn how to sacrifice my gate.  And I gave it up so you could have yours back.”

Ed slowly sat back in the chair, shock dominating his features.  After a long time he finally found his voice: “Son, really, I didn’t miss it.  Don’t you understand that everything I love about my life was created without alchemy?”  He wiped his eyes and continued, “Your mother’s love, you kids, my music…  All of these things happened _after_ I lost my gate.  Do you think I can clap my hands and compose a song?  Or clap my hands and magically have another baby?”

James, Sara and Conrad wore horrified expressions, as if they all were being lectured after doing something wrong.  “Dad, you’re one of the most renowned alchemy researchers of our generation.  We all decided that if Connie wanted to give up his gate for you that it was his decision, but we thought you might think it would make your research easier for you…”

Ed stared for a moment at the good-as-new cup, rose and poured himself a nip of brandy.  “Don’t get me wrong, I’m very appreciative of the gift you’ve given me.  It was foolish and unnecessary, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you all just the same.  It was a lovely gesture, but don’t think this means I’m going to run around using it all the time, because quite the opposite is true.  I might not use it much at all.”

“But Dad!” James whined.  “Now you’ll be able to test your theories about alchemy and alkahestry!  Maybe find a link between the two of them and Cretan alchemy!”

Sara chimed in, “And think of how much time and money you’ll be able to save on repairs to this old house.  Think of the things you’d be able to help Mom do in the workshop!”

He looked at his family and frowned.  “What if I enjoyed the weight of a hammer in my hand as I fixed the roof?  What if I liked spending an afternoon re-piping the bathroom and singing along to the radio?  Am I supposed to just give that up because I can do alchemy again?”  He rubbed at his temples a moment.  “Maybe when I was young this would’ve meant so much more to me, and I can’t deny that when these fingers become arthritic and unable to hold a wrench or turn a screwdriver that it won’t come in handy, but…  I didn’t want this.”  He turned to go up the stairs.  “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but my father was right.  The world doesn’t _need_ alchemy, and I certainly don’t either.”

* * *

James, Sara and Conrad looked at their mother, all wearing faces that reminded her briefly of when they were children, in that moment just before they burst into tears at some childhood catastrophe.  She smiled at them softly.  “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll come around in time.  He’s lived without it for over thirty years, he’s just an old man set in his ways now.”  She rose and gave them all hugs.  “Thank you all for coming, but I think it would be best if you all left now.”  They apologized as they filed neatly out of the house and Winry sighed as she ascended the staircase.

She found him sitting on the bed staring at his hands.  “I sent them all home.”  He nodded and she sat down beside him, her arm around his shoulders.  “Wanna talk about it?”

His hand covered hers and he turned and kissed her cheek.  “We’ve got some really crazy kids, Win.  I can’t imagine why they’d want to do that.”

“Maybe because of how happy you looked when you’d tell them about your alchemy days.  They thought it would make you happy.”  She nudged him gently.  "Besides, they _are_ your children, and you’ve certainly done your share of crazy things over the years.”  She felt relief at the small grin that came to his face.

“I guess I was a little hard on them.  Their hearts were in the right place, after all.”  His eyes turned toward her and she felt a flutter in her stomach.  “Well, if they’re already gone, how about you give my present.”

Winry smirked as they stood and moved to climb into bed together.  “Same present as last week?”

Ed furrowed his brow in thought, then replied, “I wanna try something.  You lie down.”

Winry stripped and did as he asked, then looked on as he knelt beside her and held her wrists up to the headboard.  “Don’t move, ‘kay?” 

She watched as he clapped his hands and shaped the wood into cuffs that held her hands firmly over her head, and then she laughed merrily.  “This is definitely a first for us: alchemy in the bedroom!”

Ed shucked out of his clothes and grabbed a feather from one of Winry’s hats in the closet.  “Maybe having my alchemy back won’t be so bad after all,” he remarked as he began to tickle and tease her relentlessly.


End file.
